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Ohio Dem blasts Tea Party with F-bomb

For Democrats heading into what's expected to be a difficult midterm home stretch, there are a few phrases in news stories about members of the Democratic Party that probably feel, well, unhelpful: “flagging in fundraising” … “enthusiasm gap” … “ethical woes” …

Oh, and here’s one more: “…used a variation of the F-word to describe opponents to his party's agenda.”

That’s apparently what Ohio’s Democratic Party chairman did at an endorsement event Monday at which the United Steelworkers union announced its backing of various candidates, including incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland.

A NEWS9 reporting crew was invited into the union hall in Clarington for the endorsement announcement, and the camera was rolling as Redfern leveled the expletive at critics in the Tea Party, who, in his words, believe health care is a privilege, not a right.

"If your kids are going to graduate from college, now he or she gets health care, your heath care, while he or she looks for a new job," Redfern said. "It's in the very base terms we win these arguments. Every time one of these (expletive deleted) says, excuse my language..."

When NEWS9 contacted Redfern for an explanation of his comment, he was under the impression that the endorsement announcement was a private event.